Shoddy Journalism by NDTV and Barkha Dutt

That, and a complete lack of a sense of irony.

Those are the things that define the current state of our media in general. In the present context, it is NDTV and Barkha Dutt who are the culprits.

As the Mumbai terrorist attack was unfolding, an Indian citizen and blogger (Mr. Chyetanya Kunte) watching the media coverage was shocked by certain aspects of the coverage by Barkha Dutt and NDTV. Chyetanya wrote an angry post (cached version here; scroll right to the bottom and save a copy of the post titled "Shoddy journalism").

On January 26, he published a retraction. Now, the retraction is smelling strongly of a pseudo-legal notice being "served" by e-mail to Chyetanya. In the retraction, he apologizes to Barkha Dutt and NDTV on three specific counts. I don't know what the personal circumstances of Mr. Kunte are, but I wish he hadn't apologized merely for (a) holding an opinion; (b) speaking the truth; and (c) quoting from Wikipedia.

None of those are defamatory in any way. The worst that can be said about his post is that it had an angry "tone" and that he used the word "idiot" to describe a certain "journalist" (I can't tell you what her name is, but it might rhyme with Darkha Butt, or may be not).

So, someone calls you an idiot and you go ahead and serve them a legal notice.. even though you routinely insult people and hide behind the facade of being in the media? Where is fair play in that? Plus, whatever happened to freedom of speech etc.? You know, all the stuff that media keeps demanding for itself.

Do you know what Wikipedia has to say about Barkha Dutt? This:

Perhaps most disastrously, during the Mumbai terrorist attacks of November 2008, Barkha Dutt shared and telecast critical information live on television regarding

• the location of civilians hiding in hotels (thus potentially endangering their lives),
• the then ATS chief Hemant Karkare's safety preparation (showed him wearing a helmet and a bullet-proof vest in excruciating detail live on television: the officer succumbed to bullets in the neck),
• the exact number and location of commandos defending the hostage locations at the Taj and the Oberoi hotels (information easily available to the terrorists via television or sat phone),
• contacting the head of Oberoi to release sensitive information regarding the current hostage situation in the hotel which drastically contradicted the sanitised information released by Indian security agencies in order to keep the rescue operation uncompromised,
• she further went on to say that even though the govt said that there will be no negotiations with the terrorists, her diplomatic sources – she named the diplomat – said that negotiations are underway.
• It has been reported by a survivor(Lynne Shaw) that this information was used by terrorists in Oberoi to get to some of the hostages. There are also reports that this information may have let terrorists to the next steps by the armed forces.

Why don't you sue Wikipedia, Barkha?

Anyway, others have already eloquently expressed everything that is wrong with this installment of media madness. So, read these (you really must):

• NDTV’s Assault on Free Speech
• Muffling a Blogger
• A bedtime story about blog freedom
• Shame on NDTV and Barkha Dutt

Keep an eye on DesiPundit for more.

Note: Also read this item in The Hindu. It talks about the Chief of Indian Navy being upset with the media. A short quote:

The competition among news channels to score brownie points reminded him of the "famous shot" during the Kargil War that led to the destruction of an ultra-powerful artillery gun of the Army. Three soldiers died and the Colonel, who yielded to a woman reporter’s entreaty to fire the gun for the camera’s benefit was dismissed from service.

No marks for guessing who this "woman reporter" was. Once again, her name might rhyme with "Darkha Butt", or may be not.